There is a strong urge to believe in the shallow myths of success and power. It is dangerous to accept the fleeting ideas of the sacred which present God in the form of cosmic energy, or in any other manner that is inconsistent with Catholic teaching. My dear young people do not yield to false illusions and passing…
Category: Features
Catholic history in God’s own country, Kerala
Each time I meet someone new there are two things that shock them. One being that there are Catholics in India and the second being Christianity reached the shores of India before it reached Europe. History shows that St Thomas, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ reached Muziris (Modern day Kodungallur in Kerala)…
Our Restless Selves.
During the last years of his life, Thomas Merton lived in a hermitage outside a monastery, hoping to find more solitude in his life. But solitude is an illusive thing and he found it was forever escaping him. Then one morning he sensed that for a moment he had found it. However, what he experienced…
What is ‘Authentic love’?
The Church dedicates the month of February to the Holy Family, an inspiring model of love. This time offers an opportunity for reflection on what love truly means. With St Valentine’s Day accompanied by chocolates, flowers, and idealistic films, it is easy to overlook the deeper meaning of love. But we are left with an…
Fr Vincent McNabb OP, an Irish light from the past
Matteo Mazzariol Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about. All democrats object to men being disqualified by the accident of birth; tradition objects to their being disqualified by the accident of death.” These words of GK Chesterton are probably the best to…
The long road to surrender
I still put barriers up in my soul to God, and He keeps breaking them down, says Ciarán Heelan I don’t think there was ever a time in my life when I didn’t believe in God, not truly. My story is more about how I placed limits and barriers in different areas of my life…
Who needs Jordan Peterson when you have the Book of Wisdom?
“If only life came with a user manual!” I once heard someone say. Today there’s not much emphasis on teaching rules of good behaviour. We’re free to express ourselves and make up our own minds about things. But ‘do what you feel’ very often ends up as ‘what do I do?’ Since I can do…
A Catholic approach to relationships
In today’s world of swiping left and right to find ‘the one’, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to find true love – a desire everyone craves but can’t quite understand how to achieve. So, how can someone find love in a world dominated by instant gratification and constant change? February 14 is famously known as Valentine’s…
By their fruits you will know them
A view from the Quays “He took pity on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). Isn’t this one great line! Isn’t it so descriptive. Isn’t it a line that, though written two centuries ago, brings many things to mind today? We have situations where flocks are being destroyed and…
The heart’s true depth beyond roses and romance
Allow our hearts to be transformed on St Valentine’s day, says Fr Barry White As St Valentine’s Day approaches, February 14 brings to mind red roses, love hearts, chocolates, candlelit dinner for two and couples escaping on weekend city trips. Meanwhile, those of us who are celibate quietly mark the feast of Sts Cyril…